Newcastle boss Eddie Howe feels his side “look united” after they boosted their hopes of securing a Champions League place with a comfortable 3-0 victory at relegation-haunted Leicester.
The Foxes were low on confidence thanks to seven straight defeats heading into the contest and Newcastle jumped all over their hosts with two goals in 11 minutes courtesy of Jacob Murphy, his second coming after Fabian Schar almost scored from his own half with an audacious effort which bounced off the bar.
Former Leicester man Harvey Barnes twisted the knife on his old club with the third goal of the evening but did not celebrate against the fans who used to sing his name.
United moved level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand and are eyeing up a return to Europe’s top table.
Howe said: “It was a great start to the game for us. It was a brilliant first goal, brilliant execution of how we want to play.
“We stuck to our task. We were professional and it was really good to get a clean sheet and three goals.
“That was a big question mark against us, how would we respond to the high (of their Carabao Cup win). The players have responded magnificently. It’s a tick in the box for our psychology.
“Early season there were games where we were frustrated by our output, by the effort. It was uncharacteristic. That had never happened before in my time here. But now we’re in a good place.
“We look united. We have a purpose and we’re trying to get there. We’re where we need to be.
“Confidence is high at the moment, but there are areas we need to improve.”
The Magpies now face the prospect of three games in six days, starting next Sunday with a home fixture against Manchester United.
Howe thinks it will be a challenging week with a “stretched” squad.
He added: “We’ve got three tough games and we’ve got to reset and upturn our performances again.
“The players are experienced. They’ve been through a lot in their careers. Three games in six days is going to be a big test for us.
“We’re going to need everybody. The squad is still stretched. We tried to manage the squad today with the game in a good position.”
Ruud van Nistelrooy failed to confirm whether he remains committed to Leicester after he guided the club to their worst losing run in history.
The Foxes boss said: “It’s very disappointing and if I speak for myself, with the intent to bring the club forward, so far it didn’t work and tried different things and structures without results.
“It’s clear what the most important thing, it’s this club and what’s best for this club and that’s also what we need to discuss.
“I think for now it’s been such a bad run of games, not getting results and not scoring goals for me it’s time to recover from this first before I can say anything else.”
